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THE 

NAVAJO INDIANS 



A 



STATEMENT 
OF FACTS 



BY 



(REV.) ANSELM WEBER, O. F. M., 

ST. MICHAELS. ARIZONA 



AUG 5 1914 



t 



THE NAVAJO INDIANS. 



For several years past there has been agitated the question of 
allotting lands in Arizona and New Mexico to the Navajo and 
other Indians and throwing open to settlement and entry under 
the public land laws the unallotted balance of lands now em- 
braced in Indian reservations. The cry has been loud that these 
reservations are too large and are not needed by the Indians. 
Unfortunately some members of the Delegations from these 
States have appeared to be influenced by exaggerated and untrue 
statements upon this question, and as the Indians are absolutely 
dependent upon the Federal Government for their rights, I have 
tried hereinafter to sho^ why these reservations should not be 
reduced in area. 

Congress, as a whole, is responsible for the Indian policy and 
may not conscientiously shift responsibility to Delegations from 
States in which the Indians in question live. Is not the Nation, 
as such, through its representatives, responsible for the wards of 
the Nation? May I not truthfully say some Members of Con- 
gress represent constituencies or rather some active, aggressive 
constituents who are enemies of the Indians and their welfare? 
THEY have responsive representatives in Congress in such 
cases; but who represents the Indians? Without a vote, placed 
under Federal jurisdiction, he is not a part of the State "con- 
stituency" ; he is often fought by the constituency and its repre- 
sentatives. The Indian has no representation unless Congress 
as a whole espouses his cause. Too often, however, Congress as 
a body relies implicitly upon the Delegation from such States for 
information, guidance and action, and such Delegations are, at 
times, misinformed by interested constituents. I am stating 
the case as mildly as possible. 

A CASE IN POINT 

is found in the Congressional Record of June 17, 1913, pages 2317- 
2321 : "Within three months the Indian Department has located 
137 renegade Navajos in Socorro County, New Mexico, 250 miles 
from the Navajo Reservation, where they have unallotted 
12,211,300 acres." 

Not 250 miles, but 54 miles, as the bird flies, from the Navajo 
Reservation. 

"Including the Navajos who are off the reserve and the Nav- 
ajos who are not, there are 1,100 acres to every Navajo, man, 
woman and child." 

This is a simple question of census, acreage and arithmetic. 
According to the Census of 1910 the Navajo tribe numbers 
22,455 people. To my own personal knowledge a large number 

3 



of Navajos were not enumerated in that census; but let us 
accept the figure of the last census. Let us also assume 
12,000,000 acres as constituting the Navajo Treaty Reservation 
and the various Executive Order Reservations, and a simple 
example of arithmetic will show that, instead of 1,100 acres, each- 
member of the tribe would have but 534 acres. 

However, to be more accurate: The Navajo Reservation em- 
braces 11,887,793 acres, of which approximately 719,360 acres 
belong to the Santa Fe Pacific Railroad Company, and approxi- 
mately 55,400 acres to the State of Arizona, leaving 11,113,033 
acres. Consequently, if you take the very conservative figure of 
25,000 Navajos and 11,113,033 acres really belonging to them, 
you would have 444 acres to the person. 

"These 137 Indians (of Socorro County) happen to represent 
the renegades of the tribe, who would not stay home and work, 
but have been leading a nomadic life for several years in the 
mountains of New Mexico, existing by fishing and stealing. 
Those are the Indians who have been located among the citizens 
who are compelled to pay the taxes." 

It is true, some of these 137 Navajos are renegades, or rather 
descendants of renegades, but in a peculiar acceptation of the 
word.- The Navajos call them "Dine Ana'i," i.e., "Navajo ene- 
mies." Years ago, before the Navajos were subdued and taken 
to Fort Sumner, in 1862, when raids between Mexicans and 
Navajos were of frequent occurrence and about 1,500 Navajos 
were held captives by the Mexicans, the Mexicans employed 
"renegade Navajos," "Dine Ana'i," as thieir guides in raiding 
the Navajos; some of those 137 are descendants of such, and the 
Navajos would not care to receive them on the reservation. 

"For several years in the mountains." Why, many of them 
have been born right there in Socorro County; at any rate, I 
have a paper before me, dated June 23, 1894, written by the 
Archbishop of Santa Fe, signed by forty-three persons of Socorro 
County, testifying to the good character and good intentions of 
these Navajos of Socorro County. Furthermore, the records of 
the Santa Fe Land Office show that settlement was made by 
some of these Indians in 1870, and homestead entries in 1883 and 
1888. As early as 1886 Judge McComas of Albuquerque tried to 
dispossess the Navajo, David Torres, claiming the land to be 
coal land. 

"Existing by fishing and stealing." 

They have small herds of sheep and goats and work as herds- 
men for the Mexicans. The records of the District Court for 
Socorro County for the last fifteen years does not show that any 
Navajo was indicted for any crime during that period. Fishing! 
I doubt if there is a live fish within fifty miles of their habitat. 
Besides, fish are tabooed by the Navajos. Organize a fish 

4 



brigade, armed with fishes tied to switches, and you can drive 
the Navajos residing- off the reservation back to the reservation 
much easier than with several regiments of soldiers equipped 
with modern firearms. 

"I want to say to the Senator (Bristow) that possibly he 
does not understand the conditions as they exist in our 
country. Possibly he is not aware of the fact that every year, 
two or three times a year, these Indians are allowed to go 
from their immensely rich reserves to interfere with white men, 
American citizens, on the public domain, causing the killing of 
anywhere from one to a dozen people. This is an unfortunate 
condition of affairs. I can say to the Senator that we people, 
down in our section of the country can deal with these conditions 
if we are compelled to; but this sometimes becomes a question 
of all a man has — of his property rights, of protection to his 
family and his children. Any white man, any American citizen, 
will then use such force as is necessary in protecting his family. 
All that we seek to do is to restrict the further location of these 
Indians upon the public domain until Congress can act again. 
The committee is being appointed, and I presume this matter 
will be investigated. It has been investigated before, and re- 
ports made, and no action taken. But this must cease; it must 
stop ; and I tell the Senator from Kansas that it will stop." — 
(Congressional Record, June 17, 1913, page 2320.) 

I regret that a Senator made this statement. I have been 
among the Navajos for sixteen years, and I know of not one 
single instance where a white man was killed on account of 
Navajos leaving the reservation, or on account of any grazing 
or land disputes. If every year the killing of from one to a 
dozen is occasioned by Navajos leaving their reserve, how is it 
that no one knows anything about it? 

Furthermore, is it true that every year two or three times a 
year, these Indians are allowed to go from their immensely 
rich (?) reserves to interfere with white men? Navajos living 
on the very border of the reservation naturally graze their flocks 
on and off the reservation. (The reservation line is, as a rule, 
not known to them.) But Indians who live and have their range 
within the reservation do NOT leave it. When the small treaty 
reservation of 3,225,600 acres was created, in 1868, the Navajos 
returned from their Babylonian captivity to the homes they had 
occupied before their abduction to Fort Sumner; they did not 
leave the reservation ; they had never been on the reservation. 
At a recent council with Indians off the' reservation, 193 heads 
of families attending, each one was asked and each one asserted 
most emphatically that he had never lived on the reservation and 
had never ranged his stock thereon. 



One more quotation : "In 1893 * * * a board of army 
officers, under a resolution of Congress and by direction of the 
Secretary of the Interior, made a thorough examination of the 
entire Navajo reserve. They made a voluminous report, which 
was transmitted to this body and to the other House, in which 
it was shown that with the expenditure of $65,000 additional to 
the amount of $20,000 which they then had on hand, a total of 
$85,000, the Navajo Reservation could be placed in a condition, 
by the opening of water holes and the development of small 
streams of water, so that it would amply support every Navajo 
Indian, man, woman and child, on or off the reserve, and that the 
9,000 off the reserve could be taken back to the' reserve where 
they belonged and no longer interfere with the citizens living on 
the public domain. Congress refused to act; it refused even to 
appropriate $65,000 for the purpose reported by this board of 
army engineers. The fault, therefore, lies, to some extent, with 
Congress."- — (Congressional Record, June 17, 1913, page 2317.) 

No, Congress did NOT refuse to act. The following yeai 
Congress DID appropriate $60,000 for that purpose. What be- 
came of the money? Ask Mr. Vincent. What became of the 
subsequent appropriations for development of water? Ask the 
respective Superintendents of Irrigation. Very little water has 
been developed by the Government — the suggestions of those 
army engineers have been carried out to a very, very limited ex- 
tent. This report has been repeatedly referred to. I have a 
copy before me. It shows how conditions were then, twenty- 
two years ago. On page 28, the Hon. Commissioner of Indian 
Affairs, J. T. Morgan, writes : "The relations between the Nav- 
ajo Indians of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah and their white 
neighbors have been much strained for some time. The Nav- 
ajos, on account of lack of water and grass on their reservation, 
located in the Territories named, have been forced to go beyond 
its boundaries to sustain their flocks and herds. * * * In a 
letter dated July 16, 1892, Gen. Alex. AIcD. McCook, U. S. Army, 
commanding the Department of Arizona, in reference to the con- 
dition of affairs on the Navajo Reservation, submitted for my 
consideration certain recommendations based upon what he 
deemed an immediate necessity, with a view to settling the dif- 
ferences between the Navajos and the whites upon the borders 
of their reservation,, with a statement that it was reported by 
the Navajo Agent that 9,000 of these Indians were without the 
limits of the reservation from necessity ; that they had large 
flocks and herds ; that there was no water or grass within the 
official limits of the reservation to maintain them, and give suffi- 
cient water even for limited agricultural purposes to the 18.000 
Indians said to constitute the Navajo Nation. * * * fhe 
General stated in his said letter that it would, in his judgment, 

6 



be inhuman to drive the Navajo Indians, with their large flocks 
and herds, back to the reservation as it now is." 

And on page 50, he states : "Should the appropriation be made 
and the water developed and irrigation established as proposed, 
it is believed that the roving, non-reservation Navajos could be 
returned to the reservation and induced to remain thereon, and 
that the reservation Indians themselves could be restrained from 
going beyond the official limits of their reservation for the pur- 
pose of securing water and grass for their flocks and herds." 

I wish to call attention to the fact that this statement embodies 
only the opinion of the then Indian Commissioner. Nowhere in 
their report do the army engineers make any similar statement. 
But let that pass. 

The appropriation was made ; water was NOT developed and 
irrigation, as proposed, was not established to a very appreciable 
extent. Even if, at present, all the recommendations of said 
army engineers were carried out, the same conclusion could no I: 
be reached now, after twenty-two years ; or is it reasonable to 
assume that conditions now are the same as twenty-two years 
ago? Since that time the Navajos have increased by seven or 
eight thousand, and their stock has more than doubled. 



OPENING OF THE NAVAJO RESERVATION FOR 
SETTLEMENT. 

In discussing this question, the character of the country and 
its capacity to carry a certain number of stock and to support a 
certain number of people must be taken into consideration ; also 
the number of stock and the number of people it is actually 
supporting now. 

According to the Census of 1910, our 

APACHE COUNTY 

has a population of 9,196 on its 11,379 square miles, i.e., 0.8 of 
a person to the square mile. How does the Indian population 
compare with the white (American, Mormon and Mexican) popu- 
lation in this county? Whilst the 5,247 square miles of the 
Navajo Reservation support 5,687 Navajos, i. e., i person to the 
square mile, the rest of the county, 6,132 square miles, supports 
but 3,510 (whites and Indians), i. e., 0.6 of a person to the square 
mile. Furthermore, in the townships south of the reservation, 
occupied by whites and Indians, the population averages one 
person to the square mile, but the portion occupied exclusively 
by whites averages but 0.5 of a person to the square mile; hence 
the "Indian country" supports just twice as many people as the 

7 



"white country" in the same county. Then, why should the 
Indian country be opened to settlement, since it .IS settled al- 
ready doubly as densely as the white country ? Practically every 
Navajo is a stock raiser, though he may practice, in addition and 
on a small scale, dry farming and farming by irrigation where it 
is feasible, but, of the 3,510 whites of Apache County, 1,929, i. e., 
more than half, live in the towns of St. Johns, Concho, Egertown 
and Springerville ; that leaves 0.3 of a person per square mile. 
What per cent of these town people are stockmen, I do not know. 
After enumerating the population in four towns, twenty-two 
townships and the reservations, the census bulletin states : "Re- 
mainder of county 392." Exempting the four townships in 
which the four towns are situated, that "remainder" comprises 
3,288 square miles, i.e., o.i of a person to the square mile. If 
the 5,686 Navajos on the reservation in Apache County could be 
removed as by magic, how many stockmen would that country 
support? Where over a thousand Navajo families make a living 
at present, possibly a few dozen absentee cattle and sheep men 
would enrich themselves. But the Navajos cannot be brushed 
aside by a magic wand. To open the door to these cattle and 
sheep men would ruin an already overcrowded range and ruin 
the Navajos besides. Wlien the rest of Apache County is as 
thickly settled as the Navajo Reservation, it w^ill be time enough 
to consider the opening thereof. 

NAVAJO COUNTY 

with its area of 10,300 square miles and its 11,471 people, num- 
bers I.I person to the square mile. The Navajo and Moqui 
reservations, with an area of 4,662 square miles and an Indian 
population of 4,371, numbers i person to the square mile; on the 
Apache Reservation 1.3 persons to the square mile, and off these 
reservations 1.2 persons to the square mile; but if you deduct 
the population of the railroad town of Winslow, with its 2,381 
inhabitants (not to mention Holbrook, numbering 609 inhab- 
itants), you have only 0.7 of a person to the square mile, as 
compared to i person to the square mile on the reservation. 
Within this county is the so-called 

BUTTE COUNTRY, 

east of the Leupp, west of the Navajo, and south of the Moqui 
Reservation, a tract of land 24 by 39 miles, which, on May 13, 
1908, was withdrawn from sale and settlement for allotting pur- 
poses. The 523 allotments, made in 1908 and 1909, are not yet 
approved. The odd numbered sections in the west half of this 
tract belong to the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway Com- 
pany, whilst the odd numbered sections on the east half belong 



to the Santa Fe Railway Company. The chairman of the Ari- 
zona State Land Commission and others demand that this tract 
be restored for entry and selection. Is this tract unused and 
unoccupied? Like the balance of Navajo County (deducting the 
population of Winslow). outside of reservations, it numbers 0.7 
of a person to the square mile, though the southwestern portion 
of the tract is absolutely barren. Within this tract, on 14 town- 
ships, carefully canvassed, 335 Indians are allotted, and they 
have 50,549 sheep, 1,124 cattle, and 1,869 horses; consequently 
they have five acres to the sheep, oi" their equivalent. Deduct 
the railroad and school lands, and they have but two acres per 
sheep. Is there room for whites within this tract? The railroad 
lands of several townships, among them T. 23 N. R. 18 E. have 
recently been leased to white men. Two of the three springs 
within this particular township belong to the railroad company, 
and one to Charles L. Day. Will it be possible for the Indians 
to remain on this township and retain their allotments — with two 
acres to the sheep and no watering place? 

COCONINO COUNTY 

with its area of 18,238 square miles and its 8,130 people, numbers 
0.4 of a person to the square mile ; but the Leupp, Western 
Navajo and Moqui reservations in this county, with an area of 
5,163 square miles and 2,722 Indians, number 0.5 of a person to 
the square mile. 

Deduct the 2,900 inhabitants of the lumber and commercial 
towns of Flagstaff and Williams, and Coconino County outside 
of these reservation numbers but 0.2 of a person fo the square 
mile. In other words, the Indian population on these reserva- 
tions is more than doubly as dense as the white population in the 
"white country," i. e., there are 3.200 acres to every white person 
living outside of Flagstaff and Williams, and 1,280 acres to every 
Indian living on the reservation. 

In the 

LEUPP RESERVATION 

within this country eight families, seventy-seven people, having 
6,400 head of sheep and goats, are living permanently along 
Canyon Diablo and on the southwest part of the reservation 
south of the Little Colorado River; 8 families are living along 
the banks of the river, and 8 families are living north of the 
river, more especially around the "Lake" and the "Cornfields." 
These Indians, living permanently on the Leupp Reservation, 
have 13,400 head of sheep and goats, 103 head of cattle, and 219 
head of horses, whilst 5 families, numbering 37 people, and hav- 
ing 2,800 head of sheep, no head of cattle and 75 head of horses, 
part of the year, are living on this reservation. 

9 



SAN JUAN COUNTY, 

with its area of 5,476 square miles and its 8,504 people, numbers 
1.6 persons to the square mile. The Navajo Reservation (in 
1910, when the last census was taken and before the extension in 
New Mexico was opened) with its area of 2,384 square miles and 
its 2.693 Indians, numbers i.i persons to the square mile, whilst 
the population off the reservation numbers 1.8 persons to the 
square mile. 

Deduct the urban population of Farmington and Aztec (1,294 
inhabitants) and such as exclusively follow horticultural and 
agricultural pursuits through irrigation along the San Juan and 
Animas rivers, utilizing a comparatively small area of land 
(there are 706 irrigated farms in this county), and the rest of 
San Juan County will not average 0.7 of a person to the square 
mile, whilst the Navajos on the reservation average i.i. 

McKINLEY COUNTY 

with its area of 5,506 square miles and its 12,964 people, numbers 
2.4 persons to the square mile. 

The Navajo Reservation in McKinley County (in 19 10), with 
its area of 3,060 square miles and its population of 5.527, numbers 
1.8 persons to the square mile. The population outside of the 
Navajo Reservation numbers 7,437- Of these, 1,752 are Zuni 
Indians, occupying 264 square miles in McKinley County, i. e., 
5.2 persons (Zunis) to the square mile; 4.222 live in the town of 
Gallup and the surrounding mining towns, which leaves a popu- 
lation of 1,463 people living on 2,181 square miles, i. e., about 0.6 
of a person to the square mile as to 1.8 on the Navajo Reserva- 
tion. 

SUMMARY. 

In the district covered by Apache, Navajo, Coconino, San Juan 
and McKinley counties, taken as a whole, a given area supports 
through agriculture and stock raising two Indians to one white 
man; in other words, the strictly rural population living exclu- 
sively by farming and stock raising is twice as dense on the 
reservations as the strictly rural population of the whites living 
in the same counties in exclusively white districts. Then, why 
should these reservations be opened up? Because the propor- 
tion, two to one, is too small? Must three or four Indians make 
a living where but one white man could subsist? That an In- 
dian can and does make a living where a white man would starve 
does not prove that an area which supports one white person can 
support an indefinite number of Indians. Or, should the reser- 
vation be opened to stock their unused area? How does the 
stocking and grazing and farming on the Navajo Reservation 
compare with the rest of the States of Arizona and New Mexico? 

10 



COMPARATIVE STOCKING AND GRAZING. 

According to the last census (1910) : 

Arizona has 1,226,733 sheep 

246,617 goats 
824.929 head of cattle, equal, in their effect 

upon the range, to 3,299,716 sheep 

99.579 head of horses, equal, in their effect 

upon the range, to 398,316 sheep 

3,963 head of mules, equal, in their effect 

upon the range, to 15,852 sheep 

7,104 head of asses and burros, equal, in 

their effect upon the range, to. . 14,208 sheep 

Total: 5,201,502 sheep 

Acreage of Arizona 72,838,400 

Acreage under cultivation 350,i73 

Acreage controlled by mining in- 
dustry 138,963 

489,136 

which leaves for grazing purposes 72,349,264 

Dividing this acreage by 5,201,502, the number of sheep, or 
their equivalent, you have 13.9 acres per head of sheep. 
According to the last census (1910) : 

New Mexico has 3,346,984 sheep 

412,050 goats 
1,081,663 head of cattle, equal, in their effect 

upon the range, to 4,326,650 sheep 

179,525 head of horses, equal, in their ef- 
fect upon the range, to 718,100 sheep 

14,937 head of mules, equal, in their effect 

upon the range, to 59,748 sheep 

11,852 head of asses and burros, equal in 

their eft'ect upon the range, to 23,704 sheep 

Total: 8,887,236 sheep 

Acreage of New Mexico 76,467,103 

Acreage under cultivation 1,467,191 

Acreage controlled by mining in- 
dustry 467,626 

1,934,817 

which leaves for grazing purposes 74,532,286 

Dividing this acreage by 8,887,236, the number of sheep, or 
their equivalent, you have 8.4 acres per head of sheep. 

11 



Now, the Navajos have 1,781,900 head of sheep and goats 
43,000 head of cattle, equal, in their effect 

upon the range, to 172,000 sheep 

87,000 head of horses, equal, in their effect 

upon the range, to 348,000 sheep 

3,795 head of mules, equal, in their effect 

upon the range, to 15.180 sheep 

5,440 head of burros, equal in their effect 

upon the range, to 10,880 sheep 

Total : 2,327,960 sheep 
About one-third of this number, i. e 775,986 

are off the reservation, leaving 1,551,974 

head on the 11,807.793 acres of land on the reservation, i. e., 7.6 
acres to the head, as compared to the 8.4 acres to the head in New 
Mexico as a whole, and as compared to the 13.9 acres to the head 
in Arizona, as a whole, or as compared to ii.i acres to the head 
in Arizona and New Mexico combined; in other words, the 
Navajo Reservation is stocked almost twice as heavily as the 
rest of Arizona and considerably more than one-third heavier 
than the rest of the States of Arizona and New Mexico combined. 
In all Arizona there are but 9,227 farms, including cattle and 
sheep ranches. Of these, 4,841 are irrigated farms, leaving 4,386 
cattle and sheep ranches; 3,206 are mentioned as Indian farms 
or ranches, leaving but 1,180 ranches to white men, showing that 
the number of Indian families supported through stock raising is 
almost three times as large as the number of white families sup- 
ported by the same industry. 

RANGE IN NEW MEXICO AND ARIZONA OVER- 
STOCKED. 

It is universally admitted that the range in Arizona and New 
Mexico is overstocked and run down and in danger of being 
•uiied, hence the Kent Leasing Bill, H. R. 10,539. 

Mr. J. J. Thornber, of the Arizona Agricultural Experiment 
Station, states: "The present condition of our stock ranges is 
hi hly unsatisfactory to everybody. The production of forage, 
wh' h ^; best, is uncertain on account of the climatic conditions, 
* * has been reduced to such an extent over much of the 
-:■ u -try by continual overgrazing that the grazing industry is of 
- e-si y carried on under most adverse conditions to the stock- 
. "-—(Bulletin No. 65, page 354.) 

Dut the Navajo Reservation is stocked heavier and its range 
is more overgrazed and run down than the range in other parts 
of the e States. 

12 



Mr. E. O. Wooton, of the New Mexico Agricultural Experi- 
ment Station, makes the following statement regarding the Nav- 
ijo Reservation and lands occupied by the Navajos in New 
Mexico : "That part of the Territory lying northwest of Grant 
Detween_ the Santa Fe Railroad and the Colorado and Arizjna 
3orders is a region of rather poor carrying capacity, and has been 
3adly overstocked by sheep for years. It is now able to carry 
lot more than about sixteen head to the section, or an a\erai^e 
:apacity of about 40 acres per head." — (Bulletin No. 66, page 28.) 

:ONDITION OF RANGE ON NAVAJO RESERVATION. 

On February 8, ion, Mr. Matoon, Forest Supervisor, wrote 
;o the District Forester: 

"CONDITION OF RANGE." 

"Due to past overstocking of range during many years, .he 
-ange is exceedingly overgrazed throughout the portion of the 
^uni National Forest included within the Navajo and Zuni reser- 
vations. As a result, the soil is eroding badly in many placcb 
md the sheep belonging to the Indians make a scanty living. 
Dver considerable areas in the eastern division of the Navajo 
iistrict very little plant life is left except sagebrush and scrub 
uniper and pinon. The former heavy stand of grama grass 
Dver much of this region is nearly extinct." 

In regard to this very tract of land Mr. Reeves, of the Indian 
Dffice, made the statement: "In Arizona the State Land 
![!ommission and the cattle men and others have insisted 
)n the office carrying out that provision (Act May 29, 1908), 
because they want the surplus lands restored to the public do- 
nain so they can use them for grazing grounds." 

Where is the "surplus" in this overgrazed district? Allot this 
;ract of land and open it up, and you will ruin the range and the 
Indians, both. The attitude of white stockmen toward each 
)ther is described by Prof. J. J. Thornber as follows: "Since the 
country was practically all public domain, each man was free to 
^raze as much stock on it as he was able to possess, without 
■estriction, and without any consideration as to the carrying 
;apacity of the grazing areas. Besides this, there were those 
rom the outside who drove in herds from time to time to graze 
)n the same and adjoining areas, thus sharing further the range 
vith those already using it to its fullest carrying capacity, and, 
n addition, continually adding to their herds. With this 'free- 
or-air scramble for grass into which conditions finally developed 
;ach stockman sought to get all he could while it was yet to be 
lad, for what was left by one lot of stock was sure to be eaten 
)ff by another. The nominal possession of a well-managed range 
vas simply an invitation for others to come in and graze it off 

13 



closely without any regard whatever for the moral rights of the 
settler or squatter, who might desire to make a home there. No 
thought was given concerning the maintenance of the range, nor 
its permanent settlement later, which, above all else, were the 
things to be most desired. That which was free for all to use 
came to be regarded as free for all to despoil. The very domam 
that should have been carefully guarded as a heritage for future 
<renerations, was being ruthlessly destroyed by a mere handful of 
persons in the absence of any laws regulating its proper use. 
The above state of affairs led not infrequently to recourse to 
arms, especially between cattle men and sheep men, of which 
instances our local histories are unfortunately replete."— (Bul- 
letin 65, page 336.) 

"It would be considered very poor business management, in- 
deed, for A, to improve the public grazing lands adjoining his 
holdings, however much he desired, so long as B, C, and D, his 
neighbors, could share equally with him all the advantages and 
none of the expense, and F, and G, tramp sheepmen, could drive 
in their herds from another section of the country, and appropri- 
ate the last mouthful of grass, if necessary, for their own use. 
The above is but one of a number of conditions which obtains 
under the empty and deceiving terms, 'free grass,' 'free grazing' 
and 'free range.'"— (Bulletin 65, page 341-) 

"If the stockman has water and grass on the public domain 
for a thousand cattle, no matter how long he has been a resident, 
another stockman, and perhaps a non-resident, can put down 
there beside these cattle another thousand head of stock, and 
the resident stockman can have no recourse. He must share, 
and share alike, his losses with the intruder, regardless of his 
improvements and his foresight."— (The Practical Application 
of the Kent Grazing Bill, pages 4 and 5.) 

In view of this statement, may I venture the question what 
the attitude of white stockmen will be towards Indians after 
opening up the reservation? And what the condition of the 
range will be within a few years? 

It is true, there are some portions of the Navajo Reservation 
which are not overstocked, due to lack of water. Development 
of water in these districts would relieve the overgrazed portions 
of the reservation. The following statement of Mr. E. O. 
Wooten, in Bulletin 66, shows that the same conditions obtain 
among the whites in New Mexico: "The average carrying ca- 
pacity is still further diminished by the absence in some well- 
grassed regions of sufficient water to render the forage available. 
This condition may be changed by developing water." 

14 



OPEN, UNRESERVED LANDS IN ARIZONA AND NEW 

MEXICO. 

The clamor of these two vast, undeveloped states for opening 
the overstocked and overgrazed Navajo Reservation seems 
rather ludicrous. According to Bulletin No. 66 of the New 
Mexico Agricultural Experiinent Station, in 1908, only two and 
a half millions of acres were held under patent from the United 
States Government, obtained as homesteads, desert claims, min- 
eral claims, etc., i. e.. about one-thirty-ninth part of the Terri- 
tory was patented land and 55,000,000 acres of unreserved pub- 
lic lands were subject to entry. 

Why should the reservation be opened, since at least 50,000,000 
acres ARE open to settlement in New Mexico and are WAIT- 
ING? In addition, on A'larch 30, 1914, 5,009,412 acres of State 
land were still unleased and unsold. 

In Arizona there are, according to Mr. Carl Hayden (Con- 
gressman from x*\rizona), "39,529,195 acres of unappropriated 
and unreserved public lands. 

Hence, if anyone urges the opening of the Navajo Reservation, 
let him advance other reasons than a lack of unappropriated lands 
in these states. 

AMOUNT OF LAND NEEDED IN NEW MEXICO AND 
ARIZONA FOR SUPPORT OF ONE FAMILY. 

Assuming that the lands of the Navajo Reservation, as a whole, 
are neither better nor worse than the rest of New Mexico and 
Arizona, I proceed to quote competent authorities as to the quan- 
tity of land required for the support of a family. 

Bulletin No. 66 of the New Mexico Agricultural Experiment 
Station, page 29: "If forty acres be sufficient to carry one cow, 
and the rate of increase be 50 per cent, and the yearling be sold 
at $15, what has the stockman gotten from the forty acres? The 
gross receipts are $7.40 for the forty acres, but from this must 
be deducted the interest on the proportional part of all money 
invested in the cow, fences, pumps, troughs, corrals, buildings, 
etc., the cost of all service necessary in caring for the cow and 
yearling, and all other running expenses." 

Page 33 : "The land is good only for grazing, and its carrying 
capacity is so small that from 2,500 to 7,500 acres of land (4-12 
sections) would be necessary to support a family expending 
$1,000 a year, assuming cattle worth $15 per head, and that the 
normal increase of such stock would be 50 per cent (carrying 
capacity 20-60 acres per head)." 

Bulletin 65 of the Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station, 
pages 346 and 347 : "Under the Texas grazing laws, the advan- 
tages are pre-eminently with the permanent settler and the small 

15 



holder. He may purchase not more than four sections of grazing 
land at $i per acre, and lease ten other sections for a period not 
to exceed five years. * * * The absolute lease district com- 
prises practically all of Western Texas, in which country condi- 
tions are quite similar to those in Arizona." 

On page 349, the Australian Lease System is quoted in com- 
mendation, as follows : "There are a number of classes of leases 
to fit the various conditions. Pastoral leases are unlimited as to 
area, but of 28 years tenure. * * * As an alternative of the 
pastoral lease is the homestead lease, which is limited to 10,240 
acres and to 28 years time. * * * Scrub and inferior land 
leases apply to their respective types of country, which might 
otherwise remain unoccupied and unproductive. Their terms 
are for 28 years usually, and the maximum area obtainable under 
either of them is 20,480 acres. One or the other of these may be 
held in addition to a pastoral or homestead lease." 

The author of this bulletin, in his speech before the National 
Live Stock Association, Denver, Colo., makes the statement 
(page 7) : "There is little grazing land in the Western and 
Southwestern States that has a stock-carrying capacity such that 
even four sections of it would maintain a family in ordinary com- 
fortable circumstances. To make this bill acceptable, the entries 
must be much larger." 

Mr. A. A. Jones, First Assistant Secretary of the Interior, 
makes the statement : "A bill introduced in the House of Repre- 
sentatives (H. R. 6637) proposed to provide for a grazing home- 
stead of not less than 640 acres and not exceeding 1,280 acres in 
area. The bill * * * is not designed to apply to or provide 
for the entry of lands suitable only for grazing. The maximum 
area permitted to be entered thereunder, and even the maximum 
area described in H. R. 6637, would be wholly insufficient for the 
support of a homesteader and his family upon lands of that 
character." 

Mr. Kent, author of H. R. 10,539, states: "It is obvious that 
a home supported by the production of live stock is to be 
gauged not by area, l3Ut by the test of the number of head of 
stock that can be produced. Vast areas, indeed most of our 
grazing country, would not carry sufficient stock on two sections 
of land to support a family, so that without some certainty of 
tenure of adjoining public lands there could be no assurance of 
a livelihood from that source." 

On March 9, 1914, the Albuquerque Morning Journal had the 
following editorial : 

" Better Land Laws." 

"A bill proposed by Congressman Fergusson for a 640-acre 
homestead is a distinct improvement over the present law. 

16 



Better still is the bill which has the hearty support of Mr. 
Fergusson. The proposition by Mr. Jones is for an expert ap- 
praisement of the lands open to homestead. Where the apprais- 
ers find a quarter section sufficiently valuable, let that be the 
size of that homestead ; where 320 acres, 480 acres, or 640 acres 
are enough to afiford a living for a homesteader, set that amount 
aside for entry. Should the land be such that with reasonable 
economy a man cannot make a living on less than ten or twenty 
thousand, or even a hundred thousand acres, give him the right 
to enter such an amount. Such law as proposed by Mr. Jones 
has in it absolute fairness and unassailable good sense. * * * 
The Journal states without hesitation and with full knowledge 
of the subject that quarter section homesteads were taken up in 
South Dakota, for example, during the past quarter century 
worth more by far than any ten thousand acres now open to 
entry in New Mexico. We will make it a little stronger and say 
that more than a thousand homesteads have been taken up in 
South Dakota, during the past twenty-live years, any one of 
which was worth more than any twenty-five thousand-acre tract 
now open to entry in this State. 

"What is true of South Dakota is equally true of the public 
lands that have been taken up in North Dakota and Montana 
during the like period. In making this statement the under- 
ground water, which may be used for irrigation by pumping, in 
New Mexico, is given full consideration." 

In another issue the same paper made the statement : "But 
there are other millions of acres in the arid Southwest which 
never can be irrigated and where it would be impossible for a 
settler to make a comfortable living on less than 50,000 acres." 

In the face of all this, what do you think of people who urge 
the allotment of 160 acres of such grazing lands to the person 
and then the opening of the SURPLUS or balance to settle- 
ment? Permit me to quote Mr. Reeves again: "In Arizona 
the State Land Commission and the cattle men and others have 
insisted on the office carrying out that provision (Act of May 29, 
1908), because they want the surplus lands restored to the 
public domain so they can use them for grazing ground." 

If it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of New Mexico 
and Arizona to open the Navajo Reservation, let it be done after 
adequate homestead and leasing and grazing laws have been 
passed and after the allotment laws have been modelled after 
these prospective land laws, and after the United States has 
educated the Navajos and placed them in a position to cope with 
their white neighbors. 

17 



THE TRIBE UNEDUCATED. 

Aside from the children attending the different schools, there 
are not over 400 members of the whole tribe of over 25,000 who 
understand and speak the English language well. Twelve years 
ago they had but one Government Boarding School for the 
whole tribe ; before that time the children were not kept long 
enough in school to be benefited. Even now there are no school 
facilities for 5,000 Navajo children. 

THE POLICY OF ALLOTTING RESERVATIONS 

to Indians may be a good one where the reservations are agri- 
cultural in character. With the exception of a few favored places 
where irrigation is practicable, the Navajo Reservation is good 
for grazing purposes only ; and large tracts of land are not even 
good for grazing purposes for lack of water. Allotments for 
agricultural purposes means, as a rule, allotments for dry farm- 
ing; and, in places, bottom lands are so scarce that the allotting 
agents had been authorized to allot in ten-acre tracts for agri- 
cultural purposes, the balance of the 160 acres allowed to be 
allotted somewhere else for grazing purposes. A large percent- 
age of Americans have abandoned their "dry farms" because they 
could not make a living on them. Shall we expect an Indian to 
make a living on a ten-acre or even on an eighty-acre tract where 
an American fails on his homestead of 160 or even of 320 acres? 
These small tracts of bottom lands will help along; in good 
years the Indian can raise his corn, squashes, potatoes, etc., on 
them to help support him ; but his main support comes, and, in 
a country like this, must come from his stock. A Navajo Indian 
cannot, as a rule, make his living from his allotment for agri- 
cultural purposes ; much less can he make a living from his 
allotment (160 acres) for grazing purposes. That is obvious to 
anyone who is familiar with this country. On many a quarter 
section even a half dozen goats would starve. 

Worse than lack of sufficient grazing is the lack of water. 
Let the Indians who are fortunate enough to have water on their 
allotments insist upon their right of exclusive control, and self- 
support will become impossible for the vast majority of the 
Navajos. These are some of the reasons why the allotting and 
opening up of reservations in this part of the country are im- 
practicable and fatal to the progress, if not, ultimately, to the 
very existence of the Navajos. 

x^s to certain parts of the reservation where lack of water has 
prevented overgrazing, I wish to state that it is absolutely im- 
possible for the Navajos, on account of the very deep snow, to 
winter their stock on top of mountain ranges and even at the foot 
of the mountains where the altitude is high. These Indians must 

18 



have a different winter range ; and in winter, when there is some 
snow on the ground, which obviates the necessity of watering 
the sheep, they take their stock into the low lands. Hence, 
where you find good grass late in summer and fall, you will find 
it grazed off in spring when the Indians take back their flocks 
to the mountains. There is hardly any place on the reservation 
which the Navajos do not use during some season of the }^ear; 
and their cattle and horses roam over this country all year round. 

Now. if water were developed in these places, it would be a 
help to the Indians, since they could use the range longer and 
during winters when there is no or hardly any snow. 

But as to developing water in such a country, in view of plac- 
ing Indians there to stay and graze all year round, that would 
ruin the range completely. The soil in these desert lands is more 
loose and sandy, the grass does not form a continuous sod ; only 
scattering bunches and spears of grass ; continuous grazing 
would transform that country into an absolute desert. Lack of 
water, however, is not the only reason why some places are not 
grazed even during winter; but lack of protection against storms 
in large, open tracts of country, and lack of fuel as well. 

Even if all the springs and lakes and reservoirs and the best 
land should be allotted before opening up the reservation, Amer- 
icans and Mexicans will find a place where to build a reservoir 
and dig a well, and secure it by homesteading, through Desert 
Act, or by buying or leasing railroad or State lands, and come 
in with thousands of sheep and cattle and control the country for 
miles around. Where a number of Indian families made a living, 
you will have one sheep man and a few herders. 

The Government is preventing overgrazing in forest reserves 
by granting permits to stockmen for a certain number of stock, 
giving the preference to actual occupants and keeping others 
out. Why not pursue the same policy in regard to Indian reser- 
vations in a country like this? Why should Mexicans and Amer- 
icans be permitted to intrude and overgraze and "eat out" the 
original occupants? 

The aim of the Kent Grazing or Leasing Bill is the same : to 
protect the range and to protect the original occupants. That 
aim is obtained by retaining the reservations intact. 

In the Outlook of October i8, 1913, Mr. Roosevelt writes: 
"Among those at the Snake Dance was Fr. Weber, of the Fran- 
ciscans, who have done much good work on the Navajo Reser- 
vation. Fr. Weber has attained great influence with the Nav- 
ajos because of his work for their practical betterment. * * * 
Fr. Weber, like every competent judge I met, strongly protested 
against opening or cutting down the Navajo Reservation. I 
heartily agree with him. Such an act would be a cruel wrong 
and would benefit only a few wealthy cattle and sheep men. 

19 



* * * On my return from this dance (Aloqui Snake Dance) I 
met two of the best Indian Agents in the entire service. The 
first was Mr. Paquette, a Wisconsin man, himself part Indian by 
blood. The other was Mr. Shelton. * * * Messrs. Shelton and 
Paquette explained to me the cruel wrong that would be done 
to the Navajos if their reservation was thrown open or cut down. 
It is a desert country. It cannot be utilized in small tracts, for 
in many parts the water is so scanty that hundreds, and in places 
even thousands, of acres must go to the support of any family. 
The Indians need it all ; they are steadily improving as agricul- 
turists and stock growers ; few small settlers could come in even 
if the reservation were thrown open; the movement to open it,, 
and to ruin the Indians, is merely in the interests of a few needy 
adventurers and of a few wealthy men who wish to increase their 
already large fortunes, and who have much political influence." 

MR. FRANCIS E. LEUPP, 

former Commissioner of Indian Afifairs, wrote once upon a time : 
"The Navajos have learned that thrice blessed is he who has 
nothing, for from him can nothing be taken away. Denizens of 
a desert too forbidding to tempt white cupidity, they have es- 
caped pillage because nobody believed the booty would be worth 
the trouble of robbing them." 

But in spite of the fact that thousands of acres of this reserva- 
tion have not vegetation enough to founder a humming bird, the 
reservation as a whole is stocked one-third heavier than the rest 
of Arizona and New Mexico, resulting in overstocking and over- 
grazing of those portions of the reservation that are blessed with 
vegetation, yet the reservation is to be allotted "because THEY 
want the SURPLUS lands restored to the public domain so 
THEY can use them for grazing grounds." 

OPENING OF EXTENSION IN ARIZONA. 

In "Hearings Before a Subcommittee on Indian Affairs," I see, 
on page 12, that the Indian Office has asked for an appropriation 
of $43,000 to survey the 43 townships in the Navajo Extension 
made November 9, 1907, preparatory to its allotment. In justifi- 
cation it is stated that the Act of May 29, 1908, requires the 
President to restore the surplus land to the public domain after 
the Indians have been allotted. In explanation, I must say that 
Mr. Andrews, then Delegate to Congress from New Mexico, had 
this Act passed regarding the extension in Arizona and New 
Mexico. The extension in New Mexico has been allotted and 
opened up — and the consequent conditions are certainly not en- 
couraging. There may have been some reason for the Act of 
1908 as far as the extension in New Mexico was concerned, since. 

20 



American cattle men and Mexican sheep men had been using 
portions of that tract, but at that time the extension in Arizona 
was and always had been in the exclusive possession of the Nav- 
ajos, hence there was no justification for said Act as far as the 
extension in Arizona was concerned. 

On page 20 of said "Hearings," Mr. Reeves states that the 
Arizona State Land Commission and the cattle men and others 
have insisted on the office carrying out' that provision (Act of 
1908), because they want the surplus land restored to the public 
domain, so they can use it for grazing ground. Would there be 
a surplus? The paragraph on Apache County illustrates exist- 
ing conditions considered by themselves and as compared with 
the conditions obtaining among the whites in our county. 

DESCRIPTION OF EXTENSION IN ARIZONA. 

In describing this tract of land (those 43 townships of the Ex- 
tension of 1907, in Arizona) I shall include seven adjoining 
townships to the north — a former extension — just south of the 
Treaty Reservation. These two extensions in Arizona contain 
a large tract of very valuable timber land, about 12 townships 
having been embraced within the Zuni National Forest. The 
grazing on this tract is above the average of the Navajo Reser- 
vation. 

It also embraces a number of extensive valleys used by the 
Indians for agricultural purposes — more especially : 

1. Bonito Valley, along Black Creek, extending from Fort De- 
fiance, the Agency, 22 miles to the south, and being under the 
Red Lake irrigation system. 

2. The valley along the Pueblo Colorado wash, on which Gan- 
ado and the Cornfields Day School is situated, running through 
seven townships, i. e., 42 miles north and south. Part of this 
valley is to be irrigated by the Ganado Irrigation Project now 
being constructed at a cost of $60,000. 

3. The LeCroix Valley, along Cottonwood wash, extending 
through five townships, 30 miles to the southwest. These are 
the principal, though by no means the only valleys within this 
tract, used and needed more especially for agricultural purposes. 

The scarcity of agricultural lands makes it absolutely neces- 
sary to retain all the lands in the fertile valleys for them, and as 
to the grazing lands on this tract, I shall quote again a letter, 
dated February 8, 191 1, from Forest Supervisor, Mr. Mattoon, to 
the District Forester: 

" Condition of Range." 

"Due to past overstocking of range during many years, the 
range is exceedingly overgrazed throughout the portion of the 
Zuni National Forest included within the Navajo and Zuni reser- 

21 



vations. As a result, the soil is eroding badly in many places 
and the sheep belonging to the Indians make a scanty living. 
Over considerable areas in the eastern division of the Navajo 
district very little plant life is left except sagebrush and scrub 
juniper and pinon. The former heavy stand of grama grass 
over much of this region is nearly extinct." 

For the year 1912 the Forest Department authorized the graz- 
ing of only 18,500 head of sheep and goats, and 1,050 head of 
horses and cattle on the Navajo and Zuni division of the Zuni 
National Forest Reserve; but the Navajos are grazing, not their 
proportion of the 18,500 head allowed by the Forest Department, 
l3Ut they are grazing 40,000 head of sheep and goats on the Nav- 
ajo division of said forest reserve embraced w^ithin the tract, i. e., 
on the 12 townships here described. This proves conclusively 
that the Navajos are in need of every acre of land within this 
tract. 

RAILROAD AND STATE LANDS. 

But half of this land, i. e., 576,000 acres, in actual possession 
and use by the Navajos, belong to the Santa Fe Railway Com- 
pany, whilst 55,040 acres belong to the State of Arizona. The 
Navajos are in possession and cannot get along without these 
lands if they are to remain self-supporting. The same may be 
said of the 17 townships in the Extension of 1884 in New Mexico. 

I am not urging an exchange of lands, but the purchase of the 
railroad and State lands from the proceeds of the Navajo timber 
sales. 

IN THE INTEREST OF THE RAILROAD COMPANY? 

Of late I have heard and read so many innuendos, intimations 
and open assertions that the recent extensions of the Navajo 
Reservation — Western Navajo, Leupp and the Extension of 1907 
in New Mexico and Arizona — were made at the instigation and 
in the interest of the Santa Fe Pacific Railway Company, that I 
am afraid the sentiment thus created might militate also against 
the purchase of the railroad lands I am advocating; hence a few 
statements of fact: Major McLaughlin, for years Inspector of 
the Interior Department, a gentleman of sterling qualities, is re- 
sponsible for the Western Navajo Extension; the Rev. Mr. John- 
ston is, I am quite certain, responsible for the Leupp Extension. 
A few months ago the Land Commissioner for the Santa Fe Rail- 
way Company was not acquainted with him. 

Besides: Western Navajo was created on June 8, 1900, and 
Leupp on November 14, 1901, whilst the law permitting ex- 
changes and lieu selections was passed three and four years later, 
on April 21, 1904. Where is the connection? Some people owe 
an apology to these two gentleman. 

22 



And the extension in Arizona and New Mexico, created on 
November 9, 1907, and corrected January 28, 1908. For about 
five years previous the Navajo Indians living off the reserva- 
tion had been agitating the question of an extension. About 
two years previous Mr. Brosius, the Agent for the Indian 
Rights Association, made a trip from Farmington, New Mexico, 
to the south over the country east of the Navajo Reservation and 
recommended, among other things, as may be seen in the report 
of the Indian Rights Association, that an allotment agent be sent 
to allot those lands to the Navajos. Mr. Keepers was sent and 
had been allotting lands to the Navajos on the east side of the 
reservation. In consequence of Mr. Brosius' trip of investigation 
the Indian Department sent two of its officials to investigate and 
report on lands off the reservation occupied by the Navajos. 
Previous to that, Supervisor Frank Mead, accompanied by Harry 
Curley, made a trip to the east and south of the reservation in 
New Mexico to ascertain and report conditions to the Indian 
Office. The matter was brought to a crisis, however, when the 
Santa Fe Pacific Railway Company leased to American cattle 
men several townships containing lakes and springs improved 
by the Navajos and used by the Indians. When the Indians 
found themselves despoiled of their homes and barred from 
their watering places, they began to raise a fund for traveling 
expenses to send several of their head men to Washington to 
see the President. The money collected was placed with a 
well-known Indian trader. Things having come to such a pass 
that serious trouble was feared, their Superintendent, Mr. W. 
H. Harrison, found it necessary to make a trip to that country 
to council with the Indians, asking me to accompany him. 
Both, Mr. Harison and myself, advised them not to continue to 
collect money to send a delegation to Washington ; we deemed 
such an expenditure utterly useless, since it was the avowed 
policy of the Department not to extend reservations. A few 
weeks after these councils the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
the Hon. Francis E. Leupp, came to Fort Defiance, and the In- 
dians made use of that opportunity to place their grievances and 
their requests before him. They told him they had been urging 
this matter more especially for the last five years; one inspector 
and one agent after the other had made trips over their country 
and had reported conditions to Washington. Whilst their 
agents, when writing on small and trifling matters, always re- 
ceived their reply,- it seemed that just these important letters had 
been lost somewhere between Fort Defiance and Washington, 
since they never received an answer to them. They did not ask 
the Government for any assistance; they did not wish to ap- 
proach the Government, like the worthless Ute Indians, begging 
for a piece of meat and a loaf of bread ; they wanted to be self- 

23 



supporting; but to be and remain self-supporting they needed 
the lands they now occupied; all they begged of him, was, 
opportunity to make a living, and protection against such as 
would deprive them of this opportunity by depriving them of 
their homes and watering places and grazing lands. 

Mr. Leupp told them that those important letters had not gone 
astray ; they were in his possession at Washington ; but that it 
was necessary to deliberate a long time over such an important 
matter; besides, the Government was large and moved slowly, 
like the big freight wagon they saw before them. When he re- 
turned to Washington he would tell the President all they had 
said to him. He did so, and the reservation was extended. 

Then a cry went up through all Israel from Dan to Bersabee. 
A petition to the President to have the extension rescinded circu- 
lated in five counties in New Mexico, letters and telegrams of 
protest were sent to the President, to the Governor and to the 
Delegate of Congress, and indignation' meetings were held. The 
opposition was directed against the Extension in New Mexico 
partly because some Americans had leased some of the railroad 
lands and others had made application to lease several hundred 
thousand acres, and partly because some Mexicans were wont to 
graze their herds on this section of the country, especially in 
winter. None of these Mexicans or Americans were LIVING 
on this tract; they simply ranged their sheep and cattle on it, 
whilst the several thousand Navajos had their homes on it and 
were depending upon it for a living. 

Part of the land was allotted and the Extension in New Mex- 
ico thrown open. 

Unfortunately, the extension did not prevent Americans from 
leasing railroad lands on the reservation ; in consequence there 
was more stock owned by Americans on the extension when it 
was thrown open than there had been when it was created. It 
is true, the Indians leased a few townships of railroad lands, but 
not enough to adequately protect themselves. At this time the 
Indians have five townships of railroad sections leased from the 
Santa Fe Railroad Company and two from the Frisco, in order 
to retain control of a portion of the range they need. The Indians 
could not be made to see the advantage of securing leases of 
other townships until the white men had secured the leases. 
Some of the stockmen are trying to keep the Indians out of the 
townships they have leased or within the limits of their allot- 
ments; this, of course, no Indian can do, as the only value any 
of the allotments have is the amount of range they can control 
surrounding their respective allotments. Recently, one man 
from Chama leased all the Santa Fe lands in San Juan County 
except half a township, which a Navajo had leased, and he has 

24 



brought in approximately 30,000 head of sheep. It can easily be 
seen that these Indians are facing one of the most grave ques- 
tions that has ever confronted them. 

In absolute control of the leased railroad lands, with equal 
rights on the unalloted public domain, the privilege of renewing 
their leases and of leasing more railroad lands — the advantages 
of the large stockman over the numerous Navajos whose small 
herds do not enable them to lease the railroad lands they need, 
are apparent, and the outlook not encouraging. 

Off the reservation, in McKinley County, south of the reser- 
vation, the Navajos have leased seven full townships and five 
fractional townships. One of these townships had been leased 
by a white man, who promptly bombarded the Interior Depart- 
ment with petitions and protests against the "renegade" Navajos 
whom he wanted moved back on the reservation; he prosecuted 
them under an old law forbidding anyone to herd his sheep 
within nine miles of a ranch house, and boasted that he would 
have these Indians ousted from that township within a year. 
And he would have succeeded had I not induced the railroad 
company not to renew its lease to him under the circumstances, 
but to lease it to the Navajos. In other localities the whites have 
eliminated them from whole townships through the leasing of 
railroad lands. 

Such conditions as described on this and the foregoing pages 
have been, and are, responsible for the efforts to eliminate the 
railroad lands from the Navajo country, whether by exchange or 
purchase. 

In the But'e Country, as mentioned before, the railroad lands 
of several townships, among them T. 23 N. R. 18 E., have re- 
cently been leased to white men. Two of the three springs 
within this particular township belong to the railroad company, 
and one to Charles L. Day. Will it be possible for the Indians 
to remain on these townships and retain their allotments— with 
two acres to the sheep and no watering place? 

In the southwes;:ern part of the Navajo Extension in Arizona 
Americans leased a towmship some years ago, developed water 
and placed improvements on it costing over $5,000 and applied 
to buy the railroad lands of this and two more townships. The 
two townships east and the towmship south of the one contain- 
ing these improvements have been leased by the Navajos to 
prevent further encroachments by the cattle men. In the last 
three years leasing" or purchasing applications for five different 
townships in that part of the extension, and for two townships 
adjoining the extension, were made by as many cattle men. 

The Navajos are in possession of these railroad lands and use 
them and need them. They realize if they do not secure the rail- 

25 



road lands, they will, eventually, not only lose half of their hold- 
ings to white men, but the other half will be rendered useless 
through overgrazing — and they will have to "move." 

The Indians on and ofif the reservation pay annually some two 
thousand five hundred dollars lease money for their protection. 

They are unable to raise $8,000 annually to lease all the rail- 
road lands on the reservation, and about again as much to lease 
the railroad lands occupied and used and needed by theni ofif the 
reservation. Even leasing all the railroad lands would give them 
no protection if the railroad company should begin to sell its 
holdings to white men. 

TIMBER SALE AND PURCHASE OF RAILROAD LAND. 

Realizing all this, the Navajos have signed the following pe- 
tition : 

"We, the undersigned Chiefs and Headmen of the Navajo 
Tribe, respectfully request that an appropriation, reimbursable 
from our timber sale, be made to buy the railroad lands which 
are in actual use and occupancy by the Navajo Tribe on and ofif 
their reservation." 

It is true that Article XIII of the Treaty of 1868 provides, 
"If any Navajo Indian or Indians shall leave the reservation 
herein described to settle elsewhere, he or they shall forfeit all 
the rights, privileges and annuities conferred by the terms of 
this treaty" ; furthermore, that Section 7 of the Act of June 25. 
1910 (Stat. L.. 855). provides, "That mature living, dead and 
down timber on unallotted lands of any Indian reservation may 
be sold under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of 
the Interior, and the proceeds from such sales shall be used for 
the benefit of the Indians of the reservation, in such manner as he 
may direct." * * * But the Indians are of the opinion that 
their consent, expressed through their aforementioned petition, 
supplemented by an Act of Congress embodying the words, "To 
buy the railroad lands which are in actual use and occupancy by 
the Navajo Tribe on and off their reservation," would eliminate 
these limitations. 

Considering the fact that their timber, except four million 
feet, is on the treaty reservation on which there are no railroad 
lands, their action might seem ultra altruistic, were it not for the 
fact that the Navajos on the treaty reservation realize that their 
brethren will gradually be forced on to their already overcrowded 
and overgrazed reservation unless the railroad lands are secured 
for them. 

Roughly estimated, the timber on the treaty reservation 
amounts to about 2,600,000,000 feet, whilst the timber on the 
extended Navajo Reservation amounts to about 800,000,000, half 

26 



of which belongs to the Santa Fe Railway Company. The 
Navajos ask that the timber be sold through the Forest De- 
partment 

NOT FEASIBLE? 

I have been told that two things militate against granting this 
petition : 

1. The law of 1904 permitting exchanges of land — rendering a 
purchase unnecessary ; 

2. On account of the large area of land held by the Navajos, 
Congress could not be induced to make such a reimbursable ap- 
propriation. 

As to the first, if the Department of the Interior wishes to avail 
itself of the law of 1904 in spite of the vigorous opposition of the 
Delegations from Arizona and New Mexico and of Mr. Mulford 
Winsor, State Land Commissioner of Arizona, the Indians would 
not object, I am sure. 

If Mr. Mulford Winsor needs all the available good lands in 
Arizona, also those on the Navajo Reservation, as it would seem, 
to make selections for the State, the following passages, taken 
from the St. Johns Herald of January 8, 1914, sound rather 
strange : "Seven or eight million acres of land in Arizona, out- 
side Forest Reserves and Indian Reservations, is reclaimable by 
irrigation. This is the estimate of the State Land Commission. 
The Commissioners have now been in office long enough to have 
visited practically every township within the borders of Arizona. 
They declare that the public has absolutely no conception of the 
vast number of reservoir sites, or of areas of land which can be 
cultivated profitably with pumping water." 

"There are not hundreds of reservoir sites, but thousands of 
them. Only a few have been withdrawn under the United States 
Reclamation Act. Along every stream in the State is at least a 
small site, the Commissioners say. In some sections of 'dry' 
Arizona there is more water, if conserved by storage, than there 
is land. Numerous sites are found along the Little Colorado, 
Gila and Santa Cruz Rivers. One of the largest in the State is 
on 'Bill Williams' Fork. There are several on Cataract Canyon, 
in Coconino County. Several vast valleys in Mohave County 
can be irrigated from the Colorado or from reservoirs in smaller 
streams. Cochise County has many sites in the Swisshelm, 
Whetstone and Dragoon Mountains. Greenlee has more sites 
than land." 

As to the second point, it has been the object of this paper to 
place facts and figures before the members of Congress and oth- 
ers interested and to make them acquainted with the character of 
the land, grazing conditions, etc., in the Navajo country. I need 
not repeat. 

27 



REIMBURSABLE APPROPRIATION. 

The reimbursable appropriation ought to be made in the near 
future. After the railroad lands have been partially leased and 
partially bought by white men, and the Indians have lost their 
homes and watering places and grazing grounds — the means to 
make an independent living- — it will be too late. 

The same holds good regarding State lands. If their timber is 
sold, the State Land Commissioners will be able to dispose of 
the State lands within the Navajo country to the Navajos much 
sooner than they could sell to the whites in other parts of the 
State. 

Whether the money thus appropriated will be reimbursed in 
the near future, lies with the Government. The ripe timber is 
there in abundance awaiting a purchaser. There are other uses 
to which the proceeds of the timber sale could be put after the 
necessary lands have been purchased : educational and sanitary 
purposes, the development of water, upbreeding of their stock, etc. 

If this method is neglected, the Indians and their friends are 
forced to urge the only alternative : exchange of lands. 

Dead assets are of no use to anyone. It would seem in accord 
with our business administration to bring this dead capital to 
life to help the Indians and to save direct appropriations out of 
the pockets of the taxpayers. 

TIMBER SALE FOR MESCALERO APACHES. 

A similar point in question is the timber on the Mescalero 
Reservation. Whilst their timber is estimated at several million 
dollars, the Indians — no, they are not starving, but there is a 
condition bordering on starvation when, through lack of food, 
the system is so enfeebled that any sickness will carry them off 
to the Happy Hunting Grounds. 

The 187 Fort Sill Indians — brought to Mescaler .—are receiv- 
ing rations until next October. What then? The son of Vic- 
torio told me they were used to getting enough to eat; they 
could not subsist on one full meal every second day — like the 
Mescaleros ! Does anyone imagine that they can make a living 
by raising oats in the clouds of Whi:;e Tail? 

There may not have been a contract; but the Mescaleros re- 
ceived the Fort Sills to full tribal rights of land, money and other 
benefits, and the Fort Sills accepted this offer, both under the 
supposition that their timber be sold and the proceeds used to 
stock the reservation for both, the Mescaleros and the Fort Sills ; 
but, instead of that, on January 26, 1914, S. 4187 was introduced 
to convert the Mescalero Apache Reservation into a National 
Park "for the benefit and enjoyment of the people of the 
United States" — without any provision for timber sale (except 

28 

RD 148 



"for the protection or improvement of the park") or purchase of 
the timber by the Federal Government to indemnify the Indians, 
to enable them to buy stock and make a living. The free grazing 
granted to the Indians by that bill means nothing to them if they 
ha\-e no stock to graze. 

I hope Congress will not create "pleasure grounds for the 
benefit and enjoyment of the people of the United States" amid 
an Indian population of whom Mr. Meritt, Assistant Commis- 
sioner of Indian Affairs, makes the statement: * * * "While 
they have great potential resources, they are really SUFFER- 
ING much of the time for WANT of sufficient SUBSISTENCE 
and CLOTHING." 

The attempt to relieve this deplorable condition through a 
direct appropriation was defeated during this session of Con- 
gress. The item in the Indian Appropriation Bill providing 
$200,000 to buy stock and other means of support for them was 
passed by the Senate, rejected by the House, and lost in Con- 
ference. 

It is hoped that these facts and figures will command the 
thoughtful consideration of Congress and other friends of the 
Indians, so that the justice of the contention of the Navajos and 
their friends may be properly understood and appreciated: that 
their reservation should remain intact and that they be enabled 
to acquire title to the railroad and State lands occupied by them. 

(Rev.) ANSELM WEBER, O. F. M., 

St. Michaels, Arizona. 
July 25, 1914. 



29 



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